Primary Health Care

Key Directions for the Information Environment

• What is Key Directions?
• Who should know about Key Directions?
• What will I find in the Key Directions document?
• How can information be used to improve health?
• Who was consulted during the Key Directions project?
• Key Directions documents and other related links

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What is Key Directions?

A Ministry of Health project that develops information use to improve health across New Zealand. The project has three parts:

1. The Key Directions document – describes how information use can improve health for different population groups.
2. A Key Directions Business Case – explores costs and benefits of different business options and asks for money to start defining what is specifically needed in order to continue.
3. A Key Directions Roadmap – a one page view of how Key Directions information development fits with other national information work.

Related links:

• Key Directions for the Information Environment (includes the Key Directions Roadmap)
• Key Directions Roadmap

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Who should know about Key Directions?

Policymakers

• Health planners and funders
• Health professionals
• Information managers
• Community health groups and non-governmental organisations
• Population and Primary health workforce
• Researchers
• People making decisions about their health or for others

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What will I find in the Key Directions document?

A long-term view for how information can be used to improve health of populations

• A plan to develop information use for primary health care
• A “Roadmap” linking work in Key Directions with that of other agencies

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How can information be used to improve health?

Information should help people take action in five key areas to improve health:

1. Support for self-care:
   People, family, whānau and communities make decisions about their health with good information and professional support. Self-care is in the centre supported by all other information pathways.
   
   
2. Support for tailored care:
   Health information should be useful and meaningful to people. Tailored care means that a health professional’s advice is designed to fit the specific needs of a person. For the public, tailored care means that information will be available in different ways so that people can make the best decisions.
   
   
3. Identifying and responding to population health needs:
   Most health providers and communities cannot find good information about the health of their populations. Different health patterns between groups come from different health needs and determinants. Action to correct unjust differences depends on understanding these patterns to choose a response.
   
   
4. Enabling the co-ordination of care and integration of service:
   Key Directions organises information around the users of health services rather than the services themselves. This change should help people co-ordinate their care and create plans that suit their needs.
   
   
5. Improving performance and evidence-based decisions:
   People want to know if what they do makes a difference. Information that guides performance or decision choices needs to be reliable, relevant and understandable.

Related links:

• Self-care support (www.leadingforoutcomes.org.nz)
• The Role of the Information Environment in Supporting Self-care of Health - Ministry of Health commissioned a literature review to understand how the information environment could support the public in self-care.
• Key Directions Case Studies Report and Composite Success Model - examples of excellence in some of the capability areas
• Defining 'health outcomes' - Leading for outcomes website

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Who was consulted during the Key Directions project?

A variety of primary care providers gave their feedback through workshops, interviews and written comments. They included:

• community based providers
• non-governmental organisations
• primary health organisations
• district health boards
• mental health
• child health
• health professionals
• Maori health providers
• Pacific health providers

Aug 2007: Key Directions for the Information Environment (includes the Key Directions Roadmap)
Aug 2007: Sector Consultation Analysis Report
Apr 2007: Primary Health Care Strategy: Key Directions for the Information Environment - Policy Consultation Document

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Key Directions document and related links

• Key Directions for the Information Environment (includes the Key Directions Roadmap)
  
  
• Sector Consultation Analysis Report
  
  
• Key Directions Case Studies Report and Composite Success Model
  Eight case studies share learnings of innovative use of information in primary care. The report is intended to provide examples from sector activity in the five key areas of information capability.
  
  Key Directions Case Studies Report and Composite Success Model (Word, 1 MB)
  Key Directions Case Studies Report and Composite Success Model (PDF, 881 KB)
  
  
• The Role of the Information Environment in Supporting Self-care of Health, Literature Review
  Ministry of Health commissioned a literature review to understand how the information environment could support the public in self-care. The review is illustrative rather than exhaustive and is intended to direct further research phases.
  
  The Role of the Information Environment in Supporting Self-care of Health (PDF, 591 KB)
  

• Primary Health Care Strategy: Key Directions for the Information Environment - Policy Consultation Document (April 2007) (PDF, 630 KB)
  

• Ministry of Health Statement of Intent

Page last updated: 6 September 2007